Summer is right on the doorstep! What do you feel? It will be full of bright yellow mangoes dipped in fresh water and kids chirping around in balcony! Now come back to reality because nowadays, summer is all about taking extra care of your skin, digestive system, and body. We will tell you how you can plan your summer food habits without compromising with your taste.
Why is it important to watch your food in summer?
Dieting is not just about curbing the fat content to lose weight. You can do dieting for improving your immunity, digestion, removing toxins, etc. Talking about summer food, you must clearly know about it. Many people have this false belief that we must eat well in summer because it’s too hot and hence, the body needs more energy. It’s not what you eat. It all depends on how well you drink, healthy fluid of course.
You lose more fluid than you consume. Different parts of India have different types of summer. While summer in southern part has lot of humidity, Rajasthan summer is scorching heat which can make you faint within 10 minutes. Similarly, summer in northern belt is tricky. You won’t know that it is affecting you and you will be bed ridden with heat stroke all of a sudden. Your metabolism faces a change and you must plan your summer food accordingly.
The basic rule of summer food
One simple rule is to remain hydrated! And we are not pointing out to your water bottles. There are many ways to stay hydrated apart from drinking water. You can have fruits or salads which have loads of water content in them. It could be water melon, musk melon, cucumber, lettuce, or anything.
This summer, adapt one good summer food habit by consuming lots of water. It could be in any form.
Quick summer food recipes
In order to help you with your summer food habits, here is a quick guide on how you can eat healthy as well as tasty food. Have a look and don’t forget to share your summer hacks with us.
P.S. Don’t look for exact quantities of ingredients because we believe in following our heart! You like extra lemons, you put extra lemons!
Organic tea Popsicle
You might have heard of different types of organic tea. Now what you can do is, boil water and add your usual tea leaves along with some mint leaves, lemon zest, and honey or jaggery for sweetening. Allow it to cool down and add some more crushed mint leaves and lemon juice. Strain it and let it freeze in the form of popsicle. Or else you can consume it as you like.
Nungu Juice
This is an extremely healthy summer food or juice, which can beat the heat like magic. In south India, it is available in every corner of street when Agni Nakshatra hits the region. It is made out of the fleshy fruit from palm shells which has cloudy appearance and tastes like tender coconut water.
Just boil it and add some honey along with lemon juice. Allow it to cool down and one of the best south Indian summer recipes is on your table. It tastes amazing and we have heard it from every person who has tried it.
Yoghurt dip with a twist
All this while, you either had a usual buttermilk or simply yoghurt with chopped onions. And it is obvious to get bored of it after a while because we are humans. Our taste buds need a change and uniqueness. We would suggest you to chop cucumber, tomato, onion, and carrots. Add it to yoghurt and mix it well. For some taste, you can add black salt and roasted cumin powder.
Avoid chilli flakes or any other spice. Mix it well and you can have it with rice, chapatti, bread or dosa. You won’t ask for any other side dish once you have tasted this. Try it out and let us know!
Aam Panna/Rose lassi
Anyone who has been to northern part of India in summer season, will know how important is lassi and raw mango slush! All you have to do is pressure cook raw mango and add roasted cumin powder as per your taste. You can add mint leaves too, if you like the flavor. Also, we would suggest you to add jaggery instead of sugar because too much of carbs intake is heavy for your live during summer season. Mix it well and don’t worry if some pulps are floating. You don’t have to be perfect everytime!
And rose lassi is all about churning curd well with water and adding rooh afza syrup or gulkand into it! We bet, this will turn into your staple summer drink when heat is sucking all of your energy.
Fruit Popsicle
You of course know what we mean, don’t you? Cut fruits rich in water content and add some honey to them. Place it in ice cream mould and freeze! Be it water melon, banana, kiwi, or tender coconut. Mix all of them together and get started with your adventure.
Minty cutlet
This sounds interesting! A cutlet in summer without upsetting your stomach is not less than a dream. Take a bowl of left over simple cooked rice and add finely chopped mint leaves, grated carrot, and mash one boiled potato into it. Now make small cutlet cakes out of them and bake it without oil. This is one of the yummiest cutlets and you can trust us on that.
South Indian Snacks
The snacks from south India have least amount of spices and are loaded with nutrition. You can restock them before summer and munch a handful of them every evening. The best part about South Indian snacks is that your hunger will be eased without giving a sense of fullness. Isn’t that amazing? Buy south Indian snacks online and start and early bird preparation for summer.
Bonus summer food hacks that you need to remember!
- Make a combination of coolants. Whenever you consume something, make sure it does not generate heat in your stomach.
- Add curd to everything and anything. You want to eat spicy Kerala mixture, add some curd to it. You are craving for pickles, then mix it with curd and have it. Basically, curd can neutralize anything and make it healthy for summer. But, don’t add curd to everything! Watch your combination well before consuming.
- Don’t eat acidic fruits in empty stomach. Banana is the safest diet for summer. Have one banana before and after food, and your digestion is 80% sorted.
- Drink glucose water, sugarcane juice, or musk melon juice instead of normal water. These are way more effective than usual chilled water.
- Reduce your diet because the digestion time is prolonged during summer. The best thing is to plan your summer food habits well before, so that you don’t have to make last minute arrangements. Execute your diet plan gradually as the temperature rises in your city or town.
- Reduce the use of garlic, ginger, oils, chilli powder, and pepper to minimum.
We understand your excitement for summer, but you can’t avoid your health. Eat wisely and you will be able to enjoy every element of summer. Just keep in mind the theory of balance. Whatever you eat, it should be in a balanced quantity. Fruits, vegetables, drink, and beverages should be consumed nominally. Don’t let your cravings ruin your health in summer. Take care of your body because it comes first.
Share your idea of summer food habits with us and other readers! And, let us know if you would like to read something in particular from our blog. We will try to deliver our best!
